FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Burnley - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 11, 2023 Arsenal's Declan Rice reacts Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
(Reuters) - Declan Rice said his big-money transfer to Arsenal from West Ham United left him feeling "very nervous" and the midfielder arrived in North London knowing the club would expect to see him make an immediate impact.
Arsenal signed the 24-year-old England international in July for 105 million pounds ($130.84 million), a record transfer between two British clubs, surpassing the 100 million pounds Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.
"When the transfer was going through I was very nervous because of the price tag," Rice told reporters ahead of England's final European Championship qualifier against North Macedonia.
"You're a human being bought for 105 million pounds, it doesn't feel very normal. But that was because of what I'd done at West Ham, what they valued me at.
"It's 100 million pounds, it's a lot of money, I could understand the pressure that comes with it.
"Not only the pressure you put on yourself but there's an expectation of being bought for that much money we need to see performances straight away. They have invested a lot of money in me, I need to prove why I can go there and change things."
Rice also said he understood why England team mate Grealish, who won the treble with City last season, may have struggled initially after his transfer.
"He was a 100 million pounds footballer but as he wasn't playing as much, it was probably as bit different for him. Now he's flying and it's the same for me," added Rice.
($1 = 0.8025 pounds)
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
